Defect log and service calendar for new flats in their first five years
TL;DR Snagkeeper keeps a dated, photo-backed record of every defect in a newly handed-over flat, chases the builder's fix, and runs a service calendar for the flat's equipment. Housing societies buy it per flat in their first years, when builder obligations still apply and most owners lose track.
India's real estate law puts duties on promoters after handover. Section 14 of the 2016 Act, in the chapter on promoter duties[1], makes the builder fix structural and workmanship defects that owners report within five years of possession. Read the section yourself on India Code, because I couldn't fetch the text this round.
The trouble is the paperwork. Owners usually report seepage, cracked tiles or a failed pump over chat to a site engineer who leaves. Two years on, can anyone prove when a defect was first raised? Nope. Regulators are meant to decide complaints within 60 days[1], but a complaint needs dated evidence. Meanwhile the AC, RO, geyser and inverter battery each have their own service cycle that nobody tracks until something breaks.
Snagkeeper starts at handover. A trained inspector walks each flat with the owner, photographs every snag, tags it by room and type, and files it with the builder's help desk. Each item then has a ticket, a date and a status. When the builder marks it fixed, the owner confirms with a photo or reopens it.
The same app holds the flat's equipment list, warranties and a service calendar. It reminds owners before a tank clean or AC service is due and books trusted local technicians if they want. For the society, a dashboard shows open defects across the building, so common-area issues like leaking terraces go to the builder as one dated list.
I reframed the seed. Predictive maintenance needs sensors on every appliance, which Indian flats don't have and owners won't pay for. A schedule plus a dated defect trail delivers most of the benefit at a fraction of the cost. Snagkeeper records and forwards, and it does not give legal advice or file complaints on anyone's behalf.
The user is the flat owner. The first payer is the resident welfare association of a new project, at an assumed ₹1,000–2,500 per flat a year (my estimate, untested), because one dated list strengthens its hand with the builder. Owners can also buy a one-off handover inspection. Builders who want fewer disputes are a later buyer.
RERA has made dated evidence count, since buyers can complain to a regulator rather than go straight to court[1]. Promoters already publish project schedules on RERA websites[2], so societies know when handovers are coming. Chat-first service booking has made owners comfortable with app-led home services[3].
No public figure exists for spending on new-flat inspections or defect tracking in India, or for home maintenance plans. The nearest signals are adjacent - one home-services app reports more than 12 million customers globally for home services[3], and one device-protection firm claims over 2.5 crore customers for device protection and repair plans[4]. Both show owners pay for upkeep, but neither shows they pay for defect records.
Home-services apps book repairs on demand but holds no builder defect history[3]. Device-protection firms sell repair and maintenance plans device by device[4]. Broker-free portals offer inspections and repairs for owners letting their flats[5]. I found no Indian product that tracks builder defect tickets across the five-year window, though search was limited this round. Many cities have independent snagging inspectors who hand over a PDF and leave.
| Difficulty | Moderate (33/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹35–70 L |
| Time to launch | 4–6 months |
The software is simple. The hard part is getting builders' help desks to respond inside your system rather than on chat, and selling to societies whose committees change every year. Inspector quality also matters, because a missed defect undermines the whole record.
No licence is needed to inspect flats or keep records, but RERA shapes what your records are for.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't let AI give legal advice or decide whether a defect counts under RERA. That's for a lawyer, and the product only records and forwards.
Want to work out the AI layer for Snagkeeper? Talk to Yash →
Here's what can go south -
I see this as a modest, practical business for a founder with construction or facility-management experience in one city. If you're hoping to sell hardware then it won't suit you. Prove first that three new societies will pay per flat, and that builders close at least half the logged defects within 30 days.
Plan for roughly ₹35–70 L, mostly on trained inspectors, a simple app and selling to societies.
No licence to inspect or keep records. You need company registration, GST on fees and DPDP consent, and you shouldn't present reports as legal opinions.
Yes, anywhere builders owe a defect period after handover. Check your local builder warranty law and data protection rules first.
The free Snagkeeper validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the RERA and data-protection checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for owners and societies, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Snagkeeper or something close to it? The make-or-break work is getting builders to answer defects inside your system and keeping societies paying past year two, which is the sort of thing I help founders plan for. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.